Page 94 - Southwestern Community College Handbook 2019-2020

REGULATIONS
G. Harassment (for Sexual and Gender Identity Harassment, see specific definition) – verbal or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of his or her race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information and veteran status, or any other legally protected status not listed herein, or that of his or her relative, friends, or associates, and has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or learning environment; has the purpose
or effect of interfering unreasonably with an individual’s work or academic performance; or otherwise adversely affects an individual’s employment or educational opportunities. Harassment may include but is not limited to:
• Threatening or intimidating conduct directed at another because of the individual’s protected status.
• Jokes, name calling, or rumors based upon an individual’s protected status.
• Ethnic slurs, negative stereotypes and hostile acts based on an individual’s
protected status.
H. Hostile Environment – conduct evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable person
in the alleged victim’s position considering all the circumstances. The more severe the conduct, the less need there is to show repetitive series of incidents (particularly if the conduct is physical). A single or isolated incident of sexual violence may create a hostile environment.
I. Responsible Employee – a College employee who has the authority to take action to redress sexual harassment/misconduct; who has been given the duty of reporting incidents of sexual harassment/misconduct or any other misconduct by students to the Title IX coordinator or other appropriate designee; or who a student reasonably believes has this authority or duty. The College’s Responsible Employees include all College administrators (Deans, Directors, Coordinators and Vice Presidents). If a student is unsure of someone’s duties and ability to maintain one’s privacy, the student should ask the person before he/ she speaks to him/her.
J. Sexual Assault – subjecting any person to contact or behavior of a sexual nature or for the purposes of sexual gratification without the person’s expressed and explicit consent.
K. Sexual Harassment – physical contact and/or conduct that creates an unwelcome or
hostile environment. It includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature when submission to the conduct is made a term or condition of an individual’s employment or academic performance (either implicitly or explicitly), when submission to or rejection of the conduct is used as the basis for employment or educational decisions affecting the individual, or when the conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to interfere with an individual’s work or academic performance or to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or learning environment. Occasional compliments of a socially acceptable nature do not constitute sexual harassment. Sexual harassment may include but is not limited to:
• Physical assault, including rape, or any coerced sexual relations.
• Subtle pressure for sexual activity or for a relationship that takes on a sexual or
romantic coloring, thereby exceeding the limits of healthy relation.
• Any demeaning sexual propositions.
• Unnecessary touching in any form.
• Sexually explicit or suggestive remarks about a person’s physical attributes,
clothing, or behavior.
• Sexually stereotyped or sexually charged insults, humor, verbal abuse, or
graffiti.
• Any sexually inappropriate behavior that prevents an individual from
participating in their employment, academic performance, or in any functions
of the college.
L. Sexual Violence – physical acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where a person is
incapable of giving consent (e.g., due to the person’s age or use of drugs or alcohol or because an intellectual or other disability prevents the person from having the capacity to give consent).
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